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Updated GPU Binaries Discovered for the Galaxy Nexus, Could Potentially Bring New Life to Dying Device

Big things are taking place over in the XDA forums, as developers are now finding what appear to be updated binaries for the GPU found inside of the Galaxy Nexus. When Kit Kat was announced, it was also stated that the Galaxy Nexus would not be supported, given that the company which made the device’s processor, Texas Instruments, was no longer supporting the device’s hardware and had taken a leave from the mobile chipset landscape.

Since updated code has been found for the GPU, it appears that either Google chose to call it quits for the device intentionally or was just unaware of any further support for the device from TI. Either way, developers are now hard at work on creating an updated kernel that could help solve multiple graphical issues that have been found on the device running the newest versions of Android.

If you are a developer for the Galaxy Nexus or are still rocking this device as your daily driver thanks to the loads of custom ROMs available for it, the news of newly found binaries for the GPU should have you quite thrilled.

Although, at what point do we say goodbye to a dear friend such as the Galaxy Nexus? The phone is more than two years old, having been unveiled back in October of 2011. We know this device has been the favorite handset of many people, including ourselves for a while, but at some point you just have to let it go, right? Apparently for many users in the forums, that time has yet to come.

Still rocking the GNexus and will hopefully be replacing it soon with a custom MotoX on VZW. fingers crossed that monday pans out to be that day.

I’m Just over it

With the vast majority of people commenting here and saying that they are holding on until February or so to make the change to a new carrier, Where is the vast majority going ? I am one of those that is ready to make a change and my contract is up as of now on my Galaxy Nexus. Been a customer of Verizon for the past 20 years plus when they were Airtouch Cellular back in the 90s here in Southern California. I am dying to make a move but am hesitant to do so. Its the fear of the unknown. Is my next providers service going adequate ? Hmmm ? I am a Crack Flasher of Roms and love to try out everything thats available for my device. The support from developers has been amazing and I want to make the right choice going forward and have the same kind of support from the developers and community as I did with the Galaxy Nexus. Just tired of Verizons shenanigans and the lack of support for my device. I want the Nexus 5 but want to wait a couple of weeks to see what the masses are saying about it. Def confused………….. Insert sad face here ——->

Mobile Phones Fan

With the vast majority of people commenting here and saying that they are holding on until February or so to make the change to a new carrier, Where is the vast majority going ?

Well, let’s look at each US carrier’s reported customer churn numbers from the recently-ended third quarter.:

And that’s on top of the 1,000,000 customers TMo added in the previous quarter, as well

Hope this helps.
.

noop

still have yet to let it go, but looking forward to the end of my verizon contract in march. after 15 years with verizon, i am looking forward to joining t-mobile. nothing’s perfect, but i don’t like the progression of verizon’s business practices. honestly, the gnex could be fine for another couple of years if the incompatibilities with drivers for KK can be sorted. cheers to the dev’s that keep this great nexus pillar alive. hooray for android. hooray for linux. hooray for unix. hooray for shared ideas.

http://twitter.com/jdrch jdrch

Dude, this isn’t Verizon’s fault. This is Google pretending that TI support for the phone doesn’t exist when in fact it does. They’re lying to us.

Tiago Azevedo

Google didn’t say it was Texas Instruments fault! They were clear on their FQA about the Galaxy Nexus. They didn’t lie!

sources close to the company have pointed the finger at a different hardware issue on the Galaxy Nexus: its Texas Instruments-built chipset.

ProTip: stop getting all your Android news from DL. They’re so slanted if Google introduced a feature that made your phone blow up they’d rave about how good and forward looking it was.

Also, if you search Google’s Nexus support site for “18” (https://support.google.com/nexus/search?hl=en&query=18), you’ll the only results are the KitKat FAQs. This means that Google actually did NOT inform Nexus users of any 18 month support period until after KitKat’s release. That’s deceptive, unfair, and a pure bait-and-switch move.

Tiago Azevedo

I don’t get my Android news from DL. It was the first time I came to this website.

Here you can see Google officially stated it’s their policy not to support 18 months older devices. They do not blame TI for this.

It was known Google only supports their devices for 18 months. I knew it when I purchased my Galaxy Nexus. They have done the same with the Nexus One and the Nexus S. Plus, it is the Open Handset Alliance commitment to support devices for 18 months only.

http://twitter.com/jdrch jdrch

Here you can see Google officially stated it’s their policy not to support 18 months older devices.

That’s the KitKat announcement, which means they only told users about that AFTER they spent over a year with the Galaxy Nexus. That’s bait and switch.

They do not blame TI for this.

Do you actually read anything people reply to you with, or just mouth off? See my previous post where they blame it on TI, complete with a link and all.

It was known Google only supports their devices for 18 months.

Again, you’re not reading. See my previous post. There is NO mention of 18 month support on Google’s support page aside from the KitKat announcements, so there’s no way the average user buying a Galaxy Nexus could have known about that.

Tiago Azevedo

Yes, I’ve read what you replied, and yet again, I’m going to tell you the exact same thing: Google didn’t blame TI! “Sources close to the company” are not Google and their statements are not its official position! Officially, Google states they don’t support the Galaxy Nexus anymore because they don’t want to support an 18 months older device! They didn’t lie and they just told us they don’t want to support it anymore; they don’t blame anyone.

Actually, Google didn’t need to mention anything about the 18 months support. It is an Open Handset Alliance commitment and Google is part of it. It’s not Google’s fault you didn’t inform correctly before buying their device! When I bought mine, I knew it wouldn’t be supported after 18 months since its release!

ToxMarz

I usually let go when the phone no longer works, drop it, get it wet, lose it, or whatever reason. That hasn’t happened yet.

steven sullivan

Long live the Galaxy Nexus!!!

MikeSaver

Huzzzah! Now I can get 4.4 on my Gnex and enjoy it for 5 quick hours at a time before it dies!! I repeat, Huzzah!

Zach Mauch

I still maintain that google ended support for the device to make a clean break with Verizon variants. You can’t very well say I’ll support GSM GNexs and not CDMA variants. They are moving on and getting away from the headache.

http://twitter.com/jdrch jdrch

Like it or not, this is true. But why not just come out and say so instead of lying?

flosserelli

This article needs a better photo, like Indiana Jones opening a vault of GNexes (GNexii?)

jim

the gnex came out on dec 15 2001 correct?

DJ SPY

Incorrect.

jim

I know…typo lol

joejoe5709

The rest of the world was around Thanksgiving 2011 if I remember right. The US got it around Dec 15 2011.

Tyler

yep.

http://twitter.com/jdrch jdrch

2001?

alex drum

you know you can edit comments right?

edwoordd

Last night I found a Gsm gnex at school, since i ordered the t-mobile sim cards i’ll give them a try, the gnex i found is in good condition luckily I have a verizon gnex so i’m still debating about buying the nexus 5 for prepaid or wait for something good to come to verizon.

Higher_Ground

you know somebody bought that phone, right?
I would think that either ATT or Tmobile would know who the phone belongs to.
I would hate to lose my phone, wouldn’t you?

Pengwn

When do we say goodbye? I said goodbye around noon when my Nexus 5 was delivered today!!

http://404err0r.com/ Henry Park

Is this the next htc HD2??

flosserelli

That phone literally would not die. It was amazing how many times the HD2 found new life. It should have been named HTC Phoenix.

Paul

I feel a little cheated by calling it two years old. I know it was announced in Oct 2011, but it wasn’t available in the US until mid December.

DanSan

december 15th. I remember sitting outside the verizon store at like 9am waiting for them to open with my girlfriend. she was not happy one bit. The store was severely understaffed and just because it wasnt an iphone they apparently didnt give it any planning. Was at least 20 people online and they were calling in employees to come in asap as they were so screwed lol

jefbystereo

Agreed, when I hear that it sounds like people are trying to downplay Google screwing people by cutting off support so quickly.

http://twitter.com/jdrch jdrch

This. DL is drunk on Google Kool-Aid. What else is new?

droidrazredge

I know this is a little off topic but do you guys think that the Nexus tablets will suffer the same 18 month life cycle as the Nexus Phones do ? The Nexus 7 has been out 13 months so far released in July of 2012, with 18 months being in January should we expect it to get the next version at least of android and see support drop after that or will Nexus tablets keep being updated for a long time.

alex drum

Am I the only one still stuck on removable batteries? not saying i need multiple per day but it’s nice to know when this battery dies (reduced life, long charge times, doesn’t charge at all) all i have to do is pop it out and swap it for a new one. less concerned about daily usage as I am the lifespan of the device.

Matthew Wahlquist

Wall charger and 2 spares… $12 each on amazon. I have no perceived battery issues.

JMonkeYJ

I carried around an extra battery when I had the GNex. Now that I get phones without replaceable batteries, I just carry around one of those battery charger packs, so it’s not a big difference It’s actually even better, because I don’t need to replace it every time I get a new phone and it has way more capacity than most (all?) phone batteries.

alex drum

I totally understand the external battery charger but main concern is life of the device, not necessarily if i can get through a day. Realistically chargers are always available car, desk, ect… I am more concerned about if I want to keep a phone say for 3 or 4 years. with a non removable battery that battery will eventually just die and the phone will become unusable, with a removable battery when a battery dies (not talking about running out of charge, I’m talking the battery is damaged and useless) you can just pop it out and put in another one. like when something goes wrong on a car you just have to fix the part, not buy a new car.

JMonkeYJ

I see what you mean, and I misunderstood your original comment.

http://twitter.com/jdrch jdrch

I don’t see myself buying a phone that doesn’t have one.

Stone Cold

Not at all I do not want a phone without a removable battery.

DanSan

I dont understand why everyone thinks they are “trapped into a contract”. its EXTREMELY easy to get out of it and you can do it right away without paying a dime.

Get your new phone (nexus 5 if you choose), grab your carrier (t-mobile for example) and sign up for new service with a new phone number. Once that is set up and you’re up and running on your new service, call up the new service customer service. Tell them you want to port your verizon number to your new service that you just set up. They will ask you for your verizon information and start the process. Once it has started, right away go into your verizon account and request your phone number be changed.

Basically this will tell T-mobile to port over your original verizon number. What this normally does is auto terminate your verizon plan and charge you but we dont want that so thats why you need to request a new number on that original line so it still has a number attached to it. Repeat this step for the amount of lines you have that you want to swap. Now sell your verizon account using AoL if you have unlimited data left on those lines, it will fetch a nice chunk of cash.

You now have a new service with your original number. Didnt pay a termination fee and you walked away from Verizon without an issue and a brand new phone.

Adrynalyne

You missed the part where it is extremely easy IF someone would actually want to buy your contract.

DanSan

if you have unlimited data, its very easy. Especially more than 1 line with it.

There is 0 excuses to wait, unless you cant find a buyer.

Adrynalyne

That is just it though. You say it is extremely easy, but everything you said hinges on “IF”.

I’ve no doubt I can get a sucker to buy my unlimited plan, but what about the two limited ones on my family plan? Suddenly not so easy.

DanSan

The level of easiness gets higher and higher the more unlimited lines you have so you will better your chances. Yes if you do have non-unlimited lines it can hinder how successful you are selling it. Hence why you line up a buyer first, make sure you know you are getting rid of it then commit. It takes 5 days of an ebay auction to try and test out the waters to see if you can get rid of it. 5 days of waiting is a lot easier than waiting 4+ months.

It’s a cool phone, just not very practical. I have to always be paranoid about how much battery life it has. I can’t ever use it freely. I know I should have bought an extended battery, but it’s a little late for that now.

hfoster52

Had and still have the extended battery wasn’t much better.

Mike Hilal

I carried 3 extended batteries (2 in my pocket, one in the device). And could use the device freely all day and night. It’s also handy to have an external battery charger around as well.

Matthew Wahlquist

The binaries may make for a nicer version, but I have kitkat (shiny) running with mpokang kernel on my verizon galnex right now and it is fantastic… and I have unlimited data. Not going anywhere.

alex drum

I would just like you to know that you’re picture has been the background of my computer for the last 2 years and you are the first person i have seen use it, I applaud you. PS I’m in the same boat as you, Gnex + Verizon network (reliability/coverage/speed) + Unlimited data = Win. I personally just bought a new one (still in box) for $250 and a couple of regular/extended batteries(total of $350)… I am digging in and holding my position for the foreseeable future.

George Fayad

I still switch to my Galaxy Nexus once in a while, mostly to remember what an awesome device it is. Having been with my Moto X for a couple weeks now though, it honestly feels like a Moto Nexus.

NorCalGuy

- kit kat

George Fayad

I have Shiny KitKat on my gNex right now and its quite choppy to be honest. at this stage in my gnex’s life, it just can’t compete with the smoothness of the X.

Matthew Wahlquist

either your hardware is actually failing or you are doing it wrong. try the mpokang kernel after a fresh install, cleanly wiped as in the instructions and you will have almost no issues. crazy good for a first release.

George Fayad

I’ll give it a shot. I did a really quick flash to update CWM and then flash KitKat and Su. Didn’t do much else besides mess with the launcher and take a peek through the settings. Shame in that 20 minutes or so i was able to watch the battery drain with that puny battery. My seidio is in my backpack somewhere….

Jason

I wiped everything, cache, dalvik cache, data then flashed bootlaoder, rom and then root and it’s pretty smooth. I haven’t used the kernal everyone is talking about but I might try it as there are alot of peeps saying it helps. I have only had 3 reboots. usually when switching through things quickly but supposedly the mpokang kernal fixes this

joejoe5709

Agreed. I did a somewhat dirty flash of Kit Kat and it wasn’t pretty. So I did a complete wipe and then it worked as advertised. It’s actually pretty smooth considering it’s nowhere near official for this phone.

EC8CH

For me, other than the gpu bugs and an occasional reboot (likely due to same bugs) 4.4 is silky smooth on my G-Nex. Amazing quite frankly for a first release.

Yes I am and have been very aware that I will be paying full retail for my phones. I think most people are aware of this, especially if they are on this website.

http://twitter.com/jdrch jdrch

Yeah by upgrading at full cost. No thanks, I don’t have $700 to blow on a new phone every 18 months.

AndrewScottRox

The funny thing about the GNex is it’s been very well loved due to all of the Verizon customers that suddenly had access to a Nexus device. Now that Big Red doesn’t have them anymore, it’s now like a rare beast that will never be seen again.

joejoe5709

Lol. I like that. Like a mystic beast, probably the most popular developer phone ever created.

The Nexus 5 will be telling its grandchildren Nexus phones stories of this rare and mysterious savior that brought stock Android to the masses in “the time before 1080p and quadcore”. Someday, the Verizon Galaxy Nexus will rise again!

William_Morris

To my great disappointment, my GNex died last night. Cache memory failure. Upgraded to a Moto X.

I am very pleased, so far.

Keith

Sorry for your loss.

William_Morris

Thanks. I’ll drink a beer to its honor tonight.

Franklin Ramsey

I’ll drink a beer in it’s honor tonight too!

NorCalGuy

That point at which this massive amount of development stops, what other phone has this large of a dev community? This might have been one of the first phones to see kk even though Google said no.

HotRodJohnson

Hells Yeah!

Ronald Bernard

This could be a noob statement but ……it could be exciting for those of us that are stuck on Verizon and have no hopes of an upgraded Nexus device. Am I right? If devs are able to figure out some new ways to give the GNex new life I may have to take it back from the mother in-law and give her my MotoX. I really like my MotoX but I LOVED my Nexus!

http://brgulker.wordpress.com/ brgulker

I literally just got off the phone with Verizon. I ordered a Nexus 5 and wanted to make sure I wouldn’t have any issues switchingcarriers. I told them I was switching for the Nexus 5.

The rep said that after some research, shecould tell me if they were getting the device. After a brief hold, she told me they wouldhave a “modified version of the device” in 2014.

I’m still switching, but this may be helpful info for others of you.

Obviously i can’t prove this, but I have no incentive to lie. Maybe others could call and see if they get the same story.

I have been a customer for years and have received a couple calls from their retention deparwnt as well, FWIW.

Sorry for spelling mistakes

Ronald Bernard

You get an up vote…FOR NOW..lol

ReturnOfTheMack

Yeah I have seen a few articles claiming the word from Google is that they will be working on a few devices in 2014 that will work on Verizon’s network. My guess is that if this is true these devices will be LTE only, Big Red is supposed to have VoLTE up and running sometime next year.

joejoe5709

Yeah… I imagine so when VoLTE comes into play. But that’s still at least a few months away and even then who knows if it’ll be available in your hometown that quickly.

Honestly I think I can gimp my Gnex along another 4-6 months and I’ll see what the rumormill starts coming up with after the holidays. Worst case scenario, if we haven’t heard any convincing rumors by February or March I’ll probably go for a Galaxy S5 in the springtime.

Robert Willis

That’s exactly what I was telling a colleague today. At this point, if 4.4 gets worked out, I might as well wait until 2014 phones come out like the S5. No point of getting an S4 or lower right now.

joejoe5709

No offense at all to those who bought a current flagship. There’s really no wrong answer here and it’s all about personal preference. But it’s Nexus or nothing with me and it seems that the current crop has major downsides to them. I’ve been really really tempted into an LG G2 but I think long term I’ll be happier with an insanely popular phone like the S5 or if the Nexus does come to Verizon. Not only that, the S5 is almost guaranteed to knock our socks off. The S4 is still a relevant phone 9 months later. That’s awesome.

And I totally agree. I tasted Kit Kat with Shiny’s offering and it’s pretty darn awesome. If Kit Kat could be somewhat stable on the GNex, I’ll be fine for six months easily.

Jason

In the same boat, no N5 so I was trying to figure out what to get. nothing came to mind for anything during the holidays. I got a call from the vzw peeps trying to get me to come in and upgrade, told there was nothing I wanted and I would probably wait for the gs5, he told me that due to the poor sales of the gs4 that the phone would be coming out in January vice the march time frame. If that is true I will more than likely go that route. As for now I am rocky the shiny 4.4 Rom and it is pretty awesome, especially if this new driver fixes the graphics problem it will be perfect!

joejoe5709

Slow sales? I thought it was the fastest selling Android phone in history or something crazy. Perhaps slow sales over the last 6 months?

Anyway… I’ve heard that too about a Jan release. We’ll see. I have a feeling that they may release this one worldwide a week or two prior to North America. Demand was almost too much for supply. A slower rollout is a good idea. I think this is what LG did with the G2.

For specs, it’ll have to at least match the G2. It’ll likely beat it in a lot of respects and probably introduce a ton of gimmicky features with Kit Kat Touchwiz. I’m betting on a slight deviation in design. Samsung’s family design is getting a little old and people complained it looked too much like the S3. It kind of seems like they’re experimenting with new materials like the leather Note 3.

Jason

From what I hear they still sold something like 40 million but they expected more. I have no clue personally, the low sales is what the vzw guy told me. As for design I have heard that with the leather, metal as well. I don’t know though, all rumor mill. Hopefully the gs5 is a beast and will be worth forking out the cash to pay retail and keep my unlimited data. I don’t use a lot of data as the gnex radio blows and I have trouble at times with service. Not to mention I fell out of the root game for awhile but I’m all in now with this Shiny KitKat ROM. Bringing much needed life to my aging gone!

Michael G

My GNex is still a great phone. I’m running CM 10.2, battery life isn’t the best but most devices are the same. It’s not laggy and I have the 32GB model so I have plenty of memory left. I’ve flashed most of the KK apk’s that were posted here last week; my Hangouts has SMS now. What does 4.4 have that should entice me to move on if your GNex is still in good shape? That’s my mentality anyway.

Adam Truelove

Just FYI people, these drivers are not new. They are about one year old or so. But they are newer than the ones included in AOSP, so that is why everyone is so excited. Maybe, just maybe, these “new” drivers will solve the issues in Kit Kat. Personally, I’m not holding my breath.

EC8CH

Yeah, but where is the source for this statement:

“They also might be updated soon so stay tuned”

joejoe5709

Oh awesome! I’ve probably got a few more months of rocking the Gnex so this is good news! I tried Shiny 4.4 and it was a little too rough for my tastes. Cool stuff and it was fun to try Kit Kat, but I’m back on 4.3 for now. Not only were there too many random reboots, but the graphical errors were really ugly. The worst part: I never did find an elegant way to port over my text messages to Hangouts. There’s gotta be a way.

I’m dying for Kit Kat though. My Gnex absolutely flew on Kit Kat. They did A LOT to make Kit Kat lightweight.

Hoping Google brings the 2013 N7 to Kit Kat soon.

ATTACK

Although DDK 1.9 is an update. It’s a year old and still a 3.0.y kernel .

I think a lot of us would have a much easier time moving on from the G-Nex if the Nexus 5 were made available on Verizon.

joejoe5709

It. Would. Be. The. Ultimate.

We’re left with some very good, yet somehow still disappointing choices.

EC8CH

THANKS VERIZON!

Hothfox

If I was incapable of leaving Verizon, I’d go with the Droid MAXX. It’s essentially the Moto X with a larger screen and larger battery. If not that, then probably the HTC One.

joejoe5709

See… for me other than the battery (which the G2 and the Note 3 can almost match) the other specs don’t quite make sense to me. Yes yes I know it’s not all about the specs, but it kinda is if you worry about future proofing. I’d rather have the near Nexus look of the Moto X. The larger screen means lower pixel density on a phone that is already 720p in a time with 4K screens on the horizon. Necessary? Of course not. But it still brings it down a notch in my book.

The only thing I really like about the HTC One is the front speakers. Genius. Otherwise you’re almost better off with an S4 or an LG G2. The design is great, but it’s a giant phone considering the 4.7″ screen.

The S4 is a nearly perfect all-arounder, but it’s juuuust starting to show its age. It’s probably the default option for a lot of people mainly because it offers just about everything you’d want in a nice little package. It doesn’t really excell at any one thing, but it does most things really well.

The LG G2 is a blatant response to the S4. It’s got bleeding edge specs and that’s nice, but real world performance isn’t a whole lot better than any of the others. This phone is king of the world at the moment, but I doubt it’ll see the staying power of the S4 or any Nexus. Throw in the fugly software (yes you can change that pretty easily but it’s still a factor) and the useful but odd buttons… and I’m still just not impressed.

C-Law

I went moto x. I had a note 2 and s4 and still preferred the smaller screen of the gnex. The moto x is a gnex in spirit but with much smaller bezels

Adam Truelove

The Moto X is the perfect example of that. It’s very good. But it’s just NOT a Nexus. So close yet so far.

http://www.mecha-digital.com/ Jason@MechaDigital

Meh, I’m not drinking the N5 coolaide… it’s great pocket computer, questionable as a phone. Problem is, I need a phone.

acras

How long have you been using the N5 as a phone to come to that conclusion? What makes it questionable as a phone? Call volume , antennas?

Boblank84

a little confused. i have only had the nexus 5 for about 24 hours but it performs basic phone functions very well. where did you get that poor information?

Adam Truelove

Wait what? How does this even make sense? If all you need is a phone, buy a flip phone. As far as I know the Nexus 5 has a speaker, a mic, and an antenna. What more do you want for it to be a phone?

http://www.mecha-digital.com/ Jason@MechaDigital

What I meant by that (but didn’t really say) is for me things like batter life, camera quality, and speaker are really key and after years with a GNex I’m never going to compromise again on these key “phone” tools. Based on reviews early reviews it seems to fall short of the other top devices in a few of these areas that I value most.

Bottom line I don’t see enough there to walk away from Verizon service and unlimited data.

http://riteshtripathy.wordpress.com/ Ritesh

Okay. No one is trying to persuade you to leave. Just cut the “I haven’t used it but it sucks..” bs.

br_hermon

1 Word…

Shiny!

j

This. GNex will die when all of them are physically destroyed, and not before. The GNex was one of the first Android device that was high end enough to provide a fluid and non-frustrating experience on a daily basis, and things have only gotten better since then. It’s pretty smooth and quick, and with Shiny ROM, issues are faaaaar and few between. I don’t need a new phone to fix what ain’t broken. All I’ll gain by upgrading is a smoother and quicker experience, but that alone isn’t worth it.

Tyler James Edward Hills

It’s the only android device i’ve ever owned but it started my love affair with the OS and un-brainwashed me from iPhone’s. Even when I switch in a few months, this phone will always have a crazy amount of sentimental value l

RW-1

I hope this can sum it up: The Gnex is not incapable of running 4.4, we proved that with ROM’s, it has the memory and although a dual core processor – the supposed end of life for it was due to TI Support, not that the new Android OS required something it couldn’t meet. so if this works out there is no reason to call it Dying. Its when there would be no reason to continue using it – my comparison there would be trying ICS on the OG – didn’t work out in that regard, but we have already seen that the reduced footprint and changes on 4.4 actually benefit the GNex’s performance. If this corrects the issues, fingers crossed, it will rock, and VZ will pay the price – no one with one will upgrade to something else, it will be the Gnex until they leave VZ for something better, like an N5 or whatever is next out there.

Tyler

You’re going to be waiting a while, Verizon has their head so far up their a** that they can’t hear the complaints of anyone anymore. You’re not going to find a device on the same level of support as the Gnex until Verizon releases a new Nexus, if they ever do.

RW-1

You really should read my sentence “until they leave VZ for something better”, never said we would be staying on VZ. There will not be a nexus on VZ again, that is a fact. Waiting would be more of, perhaps, waiting for a price drop on something else outside VZ, or for those who’s contracts end in late 2014, whatever is out there or being released this time next year.

Tyler

My bad, misread that. I think that if Verizon ever allows the 2013 Nexus 7 to use their LTE that we will eventually have a chance at another nexus once VoLTE hits and phones don’t require that CDMA radio. Either way its going to be a couple of years if not more till phones don’t have CDMA radios.

Guest

“The Gnex is not incapable of running 4.4″

Um what? It is absolutely more than capable. What are you smoking? 4.4 requires a less powerful phone than any strain of Jelly Bean. Google specifically took the effort to make it run better on old hardware than any previous version of 4.x.

Just because software support was dropped, doesn’t mean it can’t run it.

PhoenixPath

So do you just not know what that sentence you quoted means, or are you on crack?

“The Gnex is not incapable of running 4.44″… means it is perfectly capable of running 4.4.

Firelight

I’m still stuck for a couple of more months, damnit. So this is good news indeed if it leads to improvements. But between the antenna, battery and damnable memory-issues … as much as I’ve loved the GNex – I hate it, too!

markgbe

galaxy nexus? what is this, 2011? geez. Do you guys still play kick the can also?

Danny

WOW RIGHT WHEN MINE BROKE TODAY LEGIT IT DOESNT WORK ANYMORE AND NO INSURANCE

Ian

At least your Caps Lock key still works…

Danny

I’m upset I apologize

mog386

Buy a few off of ebay and swap out parts. That’s what I’m doing, gonna make mine into an PMP for my car.

wills96

Since Verizon has yet to get anything thats a worthy successor, I’m still stuck with it as the daily driver. Moto X has me tempted, but I dont think that things future proof enough to get stuck with for two years…

EC8CH

^This

Me too

Adam Truelove

Get a Nexus 5 on GoPhone. Do it now!!

wills96

Employer only pays for Verizon or I’d do something like that. I can’t be the only one…

Adam Truelove

Gotcha

hfoster52

Broke mine out of retirement for my wife when her S4 screen died (So the story went) and it was so slow… and still had issues with the radios.

palmercurling

flash the new radios. i did, and it made a huge difference.

mog386

Yeah, but they are still junk compared to radio firmware in the newer phones.

hfoster52

Had them updated when the 4.2.2 came out. Where there newer ones?

Jason

No, the “new” ones are still FK01 and FK02 and they didn’t help my service at all. Gnex not known for it’s stellar radio.

LANCE

S4 ?!

enigmaco

This phone is like bebe kids it does not die it multiplies.

Kyle Wilkins

I haven’t found a device on Verizon that fits what I’m looking for yet to retire my Galaxy Nexus. I’ll be more than happy to make it my second string phone once one comes along. I need on screen nav keys, unlockable bootloader, and some sort of developer support (yeah i basiclly described a Nexus) and I would drop some nice cash on a phone that had all that plus a battery or battery life of that of the MAXX.

Clift

LG G2

Haskell Gray

I can live with my glitchy charging port if this pans out. If not, i’ll have to get something else. What is a Verizon Prisoner to do?

Brandon

This is exactly my problem, but my answer is hopefully coming on November 11th.

Kyle Wilkins

Call Verizon about your charging port. I have had a few of my Galaxy Nexus’ charging ports poop out on me and they replaced them no problem. One guy saw how many times it has happened and game me credit towards my bill because of down time and I wasn’t a dick on the phone.

Haskell Gray

Did you have any cosmetic damage? I dropped it 1 time and it has a couple dings on the corner and a small chip from the bottom right corner of the glass, not even a display area. I’m not sure if they will accept it under the warranty because of that.

Kyle Wilkins

Yeah. I don’t know if they will replace it if it has a chipped screen but mine came will nicks in the corners and was too frustrated at the time to get it replaced. I would call anyway, its worth a shot. Craigslist is also great to look for phones. I got certified replacement galaxy nexus with all the stickers still on for $125. Make sure you take it to a Verizon store if you go that route though. Don’t want to pay a nice chunk of money for a device with a bad ESN.

Dale

Warranty? Mine was up ages ago….

Kyle Wilkins

Yeah I don’t know man. I call it in, they still tell me its under warranty and replacement. I don’t ask questions.

Dale

Trying to hold on to my Gnex until I can switch from Verizon in Feb.

4. more. months.

Kevin Ogilvie

With ya… I only have to get to Dec 15. ATT here I come!

Adam Truelove

Same here. I have to buy 2 N5s. One for me, one for the wife.

Quest

Dec 25 already have 2 N5s on order and 2 T-Mobile Sims!

Blue Sun

The reception has been nice over here. I just left VZW for AT&T on my lunch break yesterday. Be prepared to give the AT&T rep your VZW account number to make the process go a lot faster. I had to attempt to pull up a pdf bill on my phone to get that info. It definitely slowed down the process not having that info handy.

Chris VanAnden

I’ve thought about making the switch…I’ve been eligible to upgrade since August, but haven’t yet.

Any benefit you see from switching to AT&T over VZW? The pricing seems comparable, I just miss out on some devices from what I can tell.

Blue Sun

The difference for me was $100/month for 2GB on Verizon to $40/month for 3 GB on AT&T. I went from a single device plan on VZW to being an additional line on my wife’s plan. The N5 has LTE & HSPA coverage and I feel I haven’t experienced a reduction in coverage.

4g63mark

In my area Verizon has the best coverage. If you have good coverage with both VZW and AT&T, then the choice really comes down to personal preference. With all things equal, I’d only go with AT&T because they have the 32GB Moto X. If Verizon had the 32GB version as well, it would be a toss up. I fulfilled my contract with Verizon along time ago and would only leave if a truly impressive Nexus came along that I couldn’t live without. With this Nexus 5 being what it is, there’s clearly no reason to leave VZW for it.

Chris VanAnden

In my area they’re all pretty good, but I do go to areas where this i not the case. Verizon tends to work everywhere I need it to.

Also, I don’t have the luxury of just jumping onto a line. If I switch I’m switching over my line and another which means I have to jump straight to a family plan.

I agree with you though, I haven’t seen anything that screams “leave VZW”.

Also, I like the name. Had a GSX myself (own a WRX now though)…fun car, such a tinker motor haha.

4g63mark

Glad to talk to a DSM guy. All the money I used to put into turbo upgrades and motor builds, now goes to tinkering with Android smartphones. The class A license I now have and the expense involved convinced me to move on.

Have a great evening bud.

David Narada Brown

Dec. 18th for me. already have a str8 talk sim n all.

Chris Schmucker

Ugh, March 15th

http://www.timnolte.com/ Tim Nolte

I’m right there with you. I have to wait until next July but I’m really looking forward to getting off of Verizon and being able to hopefully have a real Nexus device.

gardobus

Same here. My wife and I both have GNexii and our contract is up in Feb. Hoping to move to TMo.

James Briano

Heading to T-Mobile ASAP.

Tim Swann

I have until December 18, exactly two years since I signed my contract. Someone I know can lend me a GSM Note 2 so I can try it out on TMO and see how I like their coverage where I would need it.

DanSan

just use your current phone to test it. im going to assume you have a VZW note 2 which has GSM radios in it, should be able to work on tmobile. grab a sim card, throw the $30 plan on it and boom.

Tim Swann

I actually have the VZ GNex so he’s going to lend it to me whenever I want to give it a shot.

Hans Dirk Kwazneski

I never thought one of the best parts of military statuses would be the ability to drop carriers on a whim, OH DEPLOYMENT? *cancels contract* I want the N5 so badly though

Jason

I don’t know how your dropping your contract but for both me and my wife both being active duty we can only temporarily turn our service off till we are back from deployments and then that just makes our contract 6 months longer as the time we are gone does not count.

Ray Gray

Wrong you can cancel your contact at anytime and military suspend your account without extending your contact. I have done it several times when I have deployed.

Braden Abbott

Wrong. There is no official law or policy. Ma bell waives early termination fees when you get deployed. They will also let you resume your grandfathered plan up to 39 months later, all as a courtesy. They also have huge government contracts so it might be a business arrangement.

MikeSaver

Wrong

Ray Gray

There is a law it’s called soldiers and sailors relief act of 1940. Whether it’s a law or not they all let you get out of your contract with no penalty so what’s your point?

Braden Abbott

My point is that At&t is the only carrier that will waive your ETFs and just let’s you keep the phone.

Ray Gray

No they aren’t the only carrier it’s the law. I used to work for at&t they do it because they have no choice

Braden Abbott

Read up buddy, the other guys only let them suspend contract, not cancel. For instance, on T-Mobile, you still end up having to pay off your phone.

Ray Gray

OK it’s worked for me on Verizon that’s all I care about I don’t have 4 carriers at once

G_Romero

Or… sell your contract. I did this on ebay and made some pretty good money. Much better than waiting for it to end and canceling for zero dollars. I think droid-life even did an article about how to do this a while back?

Dale

I would, but unfortunately I have a family plan and don’t want to give up all our phone numbers.

Larizard

same issue here.. in a family plan with 2 unlimited data, 1 2G data, and 1 basic phone….

Devi8

Doesn’t matter only the one line (or multi line) that gets AOL gets stripped away and becomes its own plan under the person. the family plan stays intact with the other numbers under the original owners info

Mike

^ Exactly this…4 more months…

James Hill

Enjoy T-mobile. I’ll still be using America’s most reliable network. Can you hear me now? Oh yeah, guess I’ll have to wait 4 months; after you give up your unlimited 4G LTE.

Dale

I will be going to AT&T, thank you very much. Which, by the way, was ranked the #1 network in my area just recently.

AxemRed

This looks like it’s 1 year old, from November 5th 2012. But I’ve heard that it’s still newer than what Google has been using. Hopefully something comes of this.

Shane Redman

“We know this device has been the favorite handset of many people, including ourselves for a while, but at some point you just have to let it go, right?”

I don’t know, Tim….Don’t you still boot up your D1 from time to time?

http://www.droid-life.com/ Tim-o-tato

Hah I think booting that bad boy up would be a nightmare. So much jank. Might have to just for old time’s sake now.

wtfsss

I broke my RAZR M last weekend, and in the wait for the nexus 5 coming later today I have been using a droid 2 and let me tell you: you do not want to boot up that droid 1.

palmercurling

im booting mine, because i want to see if someone tries porting KK to it for s’s and g’s.

i hope it happens.

ArrowCool

Same as you. Literally wiped the dust off the OG this weekend in hopes of just seeing how a KK ROM would work with it.

belsonc

Thinking a KK rom would take the entire weekend to install by this point…

http://www.baldypal.com/ BaldyPal

Tom, i couldnt tell from the post or the XDA link, is this thing ready to flash and test. the links in the XDA article don’t seem to have any zip downloads for flashing in recovery. any ideas?

Brandon Tiller

Yay

palmercurling

being stuck on verizon this is GOOD NEWS EVERYONE.

sc0rch3d

being stuck is a choice you chose to make everyday. GET OUT….GET THE F*** OUT!!

it’s like screaming at the skinny white hot chick in a scary move that you know is going to die.

Jonathan Berry

If you’re in contract, it’s probably a choice you have to make. Paying an ETF on top of buying new phones gets expensive very quickly.

Pedro

And then 6, 8 or ten months down the line, you’ve realistically made all that money back.
And you’re putting more into your account every month thereafter.

Evan Knofsky

However some people don’t have the money to pay the ETF and buy a new phone.

Pedro

But they are more than capable of signing that contract for a subsidized phone.
You make your choices, and you live with them. And then you whine about them a year later (not aimed at anyone in particular).

Larizard

I have $180 ETF.. upgrade in May ’14.. but that’s waaay too long of a wait.. lol. Might just shell out to get on T-Mo.

palmercurling

i dont have the option to switch, i (luckily, and i know im lucky) have a plan under my family account, and am not in control of the account. also, college student with a limited budget, staying in my family account means i dont need to pay.

yes, its a choice, but not really a choice.

ReturnOfTheMack

My situation to the letter. G-Nex with unlimited data and part of a family plan as I am a college student. You have no idea how bad I wanted the Nexus 5 to work on Verizon.

Jordan

I’m a college student & pay my own phone bill. Being in college is no excuse.

Ej McCarty

Watch out we’ve got a bad ass over here

ReturnOfTheMack

Haha alright just find time for me to get a job or find me a paid internship and I’ll be set. Right now I have no money to afford a phone bill on top of everything else I pay for. I’m very grateful my family covers it while I’m in school, glad you have the money for it yourself though.

Jeff C

Work harder.

ReturnOfTheMack

On it.

http://www.toysdiva.com Toys Samurai

If you have to have the Nexus 5, carry two phones. Use your G-Nex strictly as a phone, turn off every battery eating stuffs, and turn on tethering. Buy a Nexus 5 and tether it to the G-Nex. I found that the battery of G-Nex, when it’s being used as a tethering only device, actually last longer than being used as a smartphone (the display is just way too power hungry.) Do all your talking on the G-Nex, and do all your other stuffs on your Nexus 5.

Larizard

That is not a bad idea at all…. Hmm.

Khary Anderson

Same here. I’m with a new Moto X

Mike

Get out and go to what? T-Mobile and never have data? AT&T and get screwed the same as Verizon? Sorry not everyone lives in a city and has access to all four carriers.

andrew401

Then move or stfu

Jason

I hope your joking and not just being an ignorant douche

Mike

Wait, so you want me to take my family, move to a different house, away from my job, just to get cell reception with a subpar carrier so that I can have a Nexus device? You really need to get your priorities straight. I’ll take my Unlimited 4G LTE on Verizon with a phone on 4.3 anyways (Note II with CM), and enjoy the Nexus experience the best way I can, with my Nexus 10.

kselby

Straight Talk, using AT&T’s network without the hassle of dealing with AT&T. Cheap plans too, that is what I am going to with the N5.

There just wasn’t any night time video monitoring(gnex = awful low light).

http://lostsync.net/ lostsync

all you need to see on a baby monitor is if the baby is still there, breathing, and awake or asleep. gnex can do that, and once you got a few pieces of software to play nice, it can probably do it while also doing 90 things no other standalone baby monitor can do..grainy hidden cam images from a baby’s room can be pretty creepy too so you get that out of it as well

I actually used one in my attic (taped around a flexi desk lamp) to figure out what was going insane in my attic every night around 3AM. They were raccoons. It’d email us frames in real time if it saw anything…mostly shadows on the floor but sometimes actual photographic evidence. gave us a little report at the end of the day. it was a good tool for this.

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